Corrective Exercise

Corrective Exercise is a training program used by certified specialists in order to assess and correct a clients musculoskeletal imbalances within the human movement system. Our body is connected all throughout, from head to toe, and what many people don’t realize is that the pain or discomfort you are having in a particular area is possibly being caused by an imbalance within the body at a completely different site. Imbalances in the body can arise from a previous injury, repetitive movements, surgeries, and anything else that may cause the body to compensate for an area of weakness.

After the Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) completes the assessment using specific postural and movement tools, the areas of the body that need to be corrected are determined.

Phase I: Inhibit

This phase focuses on inhibiting, or relaxing any over-active muscles,possibly caused by repetitive movements, or they are working more in order to protect an area of injury or pick up the slack from weaker muscles.Using massage is a great way to inhibit these muscles, and also using ‘self-myofascial release’ tools, such as using a foam roller.

Phase II: Lengthen

After inhibiting over-active muscles we move on to Phase II, which is lengthening, or stretching those over-active muscles.Massage can also be used for this phase, particularly a therapist who is trained in advanced stretching techniques.Lengthening of the muscles prepares the body for the next phase in the training program.

Phase III: Activate

After lengthening the previously over-active muscles we move on to the activation phase.This phase focusing on activating, and strengthening those weaker muscles that the previously over-active muscles were ‘over-powering’.At every joint in our body we have muscles called agonists and antagonists.For example, when doing a bicep curl (elbow flexion), the agonist (prime mover) is the Biceps Brachii muscle.The antagonist is the muscle that does the action opposite of the agonist, so for this example it would be Triceps Brachii, which does elbow extension.In order to maintain proper function of these joints, we need to have balance between agonists and antagonists.Without balance it leads to compensation patterns, pain, reduced level of performance, increased risk of injuries, etc.

Phase IV: Integrate

The integration phase is applied once the right muscles have been properly activated.Using integrated dynamic movements helps to enhance the functional capacity of the human movement system, by increasing multiplanar neuromuscular control.The exercises used focus on total body movements, with emphasis on stabilization, control, and correct posture.One example of an integrated dynamic movement would be a lunge using light dumb bells with an overhead press to finish the motion.